|
To
be continued
New Zealand Listener, 14 June 2003
HAMLET,
by William Shakespeare, directed by Michael Hurst, Maidment Theatre
by
Frances Edmond
|
photo:
Andrew Malmo
|
|
|
The
lights go down and with sound and fury the play erupts onto the
stage in a thrillingly theatrical opening--swirling torches, booming
sound, terrified guards transfixed by light, as the restless ghost
of old Hamlet walks the battlements. So begins Michael Hurst's
modern-dress production.
On
a majestic black set by John Verryt, Hurst holds the centre. In
a contained yet mercurial performance, he goes inside the man,
portraying a Hamlet who knows himself and his failures and is
as wearied by them as he is wracked by them. His frustration bursts
into angry accusations against those he loves--Gertrude (Elizabeth
Hawthorne) and Ophelia (Anna Hewlett); the scene with Gertrude
where love and need tears them both apart is compelling theatre.
There's plenty of humour, too, for instance, in his cynical contempt
towards Rosencrantz (Jason Hoyte) and Guildenstern (Jonathan Brugh).
The
cutting of the Fortinbras story meant the loss of a political
dimension, which was compounded by an uncentered and often unintelligible
performance from Ray Trickitt as Claudius. Thus, the power balance
between Hamlet and the court was out of kilter. Cellphones and
rock music didn't add anything, either. However, David Aston delivers
a smooth, ministerial Polonius (and a delightfully camp Osric).
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, played as a pair of paid hoods,
are a fine comic duo, and Ophelia, at the conclusion of her mad
scene, is electrifying.
The
grand scale of the production is fitting and the last scene, the
sword fight and death of Hamlet, is magnificent. Paul Barnett's
(Horatio) exquisite delivery of the final lines: "And flights
of angels sing thee to thy rest" is a moving conclusion to
one of the great plays.
©Copyright
2003, New Zealand Listener |
|